Threats Force Retreat From Wide-Ranging Plans for Iraq (washingtonpost.com)
The attacks have ramped up again after the capture of Saddam and we seem to be responding, politically, in exactly the wrong way. I know the attacks on the troops are not the only issue — getting support from other countries based on a transfer of sovereignty, etc. — and these are the worst reasons to be scaling...

Darmon has a couple of good posts that are certainly worth your time (see here and here).
Also, the WaPo has an editorial that suggests that we defer to the Iraqis on our troop movements once the handover is complete. Not a good idea. Better to allow the troops to disengage, create bases out of the major population centers for their own protection and then allow the new Iraqi government to veto proposed...

Well, so much for throttling back, at least for the moment. Reading more seems to inspire posting. Feministe is complaining about the under-representation of women among top bloggers (she apparently doesn’t know Michele) and the first time I read her blog, on the first page, is an idiotic rant about the draft and she blames “Rethugnicans” without even bothering to research the issue. Of course...

Gwynne Dyer: Footage could’ve brought on a Mogadishu moment
I haven’t been watching a lot of TV but have seen some of the footage, though it was crowd reaction, and jubilation, while dragging the bodies around. The author’s thesis is that we would pull out of Iraq if the American people could see the footage. Her reasoning depends on Mogadishu. I disagree for a few reasons.
First,...

Troops Wait Eagerly to Reenter Fallouja
That is, if the 1st Marine Expeditionary force has anything to say about it. When it first happened I was angry and ready for a swift response. Now I think a deliberate approach is the way to go and it’s a good thing the military commanders are smarter and more seasoned than I am. There probably wouldn’t be much of Fallujah left if I had been in charge...

U.S. vows retaliation for contractor deaths in Iraq (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online)
We’re going to hit them hard and deliberately. I suppose if we’re going to give Iraq an enima, Fallujah is the place to start. The military seems psyched and I’m ready for them to put the insurgents out of business.
U.S. Marines manned roadblocks on the outskirts of Fallujah on Thursday, biding their...

….please attend Lt. Smash’s counter-rally to the Stalinist organization A.N.S.W.E.R.. Having failed to stop the Iraqi War, it’s now their intention to undercut morale in any way possible. It’s their right to protest, but yours as well. If I didn’t live 3000 miles away, I’d be there. Click on the Smash link above for details. The ad to the left will take you there...

Iraqi Cleric Condemns Mutilation of Four Slain U.S. Civilians
How very kind of the imams to condemn the mutilation of the bodies but not the actual killings themselves. Seems a bit of a technicality once they’re already dead. The Marines seem set to clean out Fallujah and all I can say is bravo.
Religious leaders in this violent, restive town issued an edict today condemning the mutilation of...

DefenseLINK News: Troop Rotation to Iraq Continues, Units Assuming Control
Just some news about the rotation of troops into and out of Iraq that I thought would be interesting.
The largest rotation of U.S. forces since World War II continues in Iraq, Defense Department officials said today.
In all more than 250,000 U.S. service members are affected.
Planning for the rotation began months ago. New units...

9 Killed in Separate Attacks in Iraq (washingtonpost.com)
My history as an armchair general is pretty poor. I was one of those wringing my hands over the Afghanistan war before it turned into a rout of the Taliban. I was always in favor of it, I just questioned the strategy. A military guy set me straight.
I am wondering if there’s a way in which the military could castrate the Fallujah and Ramadi...